The Trans Joy Missing From Media Coverage and Legislation

Since the beginning of 2023, 49 United States state legislatures have introduced . While mainstream media increasingly and against trans people, many scholars and activists worry that focusing just on violence and discrimination of being trans.

Drawing on the success of movements like the , which uses art to promote Black healing and community-building, trans activists are challenging one-dimensional depictions of their community by highlighting the .

affirms the reality of trans joy. From 2019 to 2021, I interviewed 54 transgender women鈥攂oth current and prospective parents鈥攆rom diverse racial and class backgrounds across the country. I found that while many have navigated discrimination in their parenting journeys, they also have fulfilling parent-child relationships, often with the support of partners, families of origin, and their communities.

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Gender Euphoria

Scholars and community members use the term 鈥溾€� to describe a 鈥渏oyful feeling of rightness in one鈥檚 gender/sex.鈥� It diverges from the diagnosis of , or a sense of conflict between assigned sex and gender identity typically associated with feelings of distress and discomfort.

While gender dysphoria reflects some trans people鈥檚 experiences, physicians have historically used this concept to . For example, doctors may prescribe hormones only to people who obtain a letter from a therapist attesting that they fit a narrow understanding of transness that includes expressing hatred for their body.

Gender euphoria celebrates feeling comfortable with who you are and how you are perceived by the world. Some people transition with a specific set of goals, while others discover new sources of joy and new facets of their identity over time.

Some trans women find euphoria in their role as mothers. *Photo by*

Many of the trans women I interviewed expressed their gender euphoria in relation to their role as mothers. A Black trans woman in her 20s, whom I will call Gloria, experiences joy in being recognized as a mother. 鈥淚 love being called Mom. That鈥檚 the greatest thing,鈥� she tells me. 鈥淚 love waking up every morning to see [my child鈥檚] beautiful face. It keeps me motivated.鈥�

Other people experience euphoria in how they express their gender. Naomi, a white trans woman in her 40s, experienced her first spark of gender euphoria at the nail salon. 鈥淚t was the only gender-affirming thing I could express [at the time],鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen the nail tech took the polish off and I saw how long my fingernails had gotten, my heart skipped a beat.鈥�

For many trans people, transitioning opens up a new set of possibilities. When I asked Adriana, a trans Latina in her 30s, what it was like to come out as trans, she told me, 鈥淚鈥檝e never been happier. The happiest day of my life was when my daughter was born, and the second happiest day of my life was when I [started transitioning].鈥�

Family and Community Connections

While some trans people do experience rejection from their families of origin, that is not true for the majority of the community. In a 2015 national survey of over 27,700 trans adults, the , 60% of respondents reported having families who are .

Liza, a white trans woman in her 20s, has a close relationship with her brothers. 鈥淲e are still a little triad. Yes, things change, but ultimately, I鈥檓 the same person just using a different name,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 can see myself as part of this family going forward. There鈥檚 no break. I鈥檓 not breaking anything by coming out.鈥�

Many trans people are supported by their families of origin and their chosen families. *Photo by*

Trans women also form with friends, co-workers, and other community members. Relationships with other trans people can have particularly positive effects on , including emotional resilience, self-acceptance, and a sense of connection.

Jane, a Black trans woman in her 20s, has a tight-knit group of first-time parents she can call 鈥渨henever [she鈥檚] freaking out,鈥� no matter the scope of the emergency. While she laments her father鈥檚 lack of support, Jane鈥檚 friends are always there for her. 鈥淸T]hey come to visit, they bond with my son, [and] we get to spend time together like a big family, you know?鈥�

Trans Community Care

In addition to caring for their biological and adopted children, the trans women I interviewed felt a responsibility to take care of their community.

Sometimes this care manifested as parent-child relationships, in which respondents provide financial or emotional support to LGBTQ youth. Maggie, a white woman in her 50s, didn鈥檛 know she was a parental figure for her 鈥渜ueer kids鈥� until they tagged her on Instagram to celebrate Mother鈥檚 Day.

鈥淪omeone might go, 鈥楬ey, can I stay on your sofa tonight? I鈥檓 having a hard time.鈥� Well, yeah, of course,鈥� she says. 鈥淥r they might hang around the shop [I work at], and only later it dawns on me, 鈥極h, this was the only place they could come and get affirmed and not feel weird.鈥欌€�

Many also provide care outside their family units. Whitney, a Black trans woman in her 20s, reaches out to and tells local teachers they can refer parents of trans kids to her if they have any questions about how to support their children on their gender journeys or if their kids need someone to talk to.

Respondents like Whitney, who began questioning her gender identity in her early teens, also mentor trans women who are older than they. 鈥淲hy not,鈥� she tells me, 鈥渋f I have relevant experiences and can help make their lives easier?鈥�

Miriam, a white trans woman in her 60s, agrees that she has a lot to learn from younger trans people. 鈥淎 lot of my community today, people who I count as family and my beloveds, are not of my generation,鈥� she says. 鈥淏eloveds鈥� is the term she uses to describe her platonic loved ones. 鈥淚 learn a lot from my beloveds in their 20s and 30s, who don鈥檛 have the same baggage I [dealt with] about how I could be and who I could be.鈥�

Anti-Trans Hate as a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Anti-trans politicians deploy a variety of tactics to stigmatize transgender communities, from describing gender-affirming care to falsely accusing trans people of .

While these politicians by restricting access to gender-affirming care, a 2021 Trevor Project survey found that recent political events have of 94% of LGTBQ youth in the U.S. A study based on data from the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey found that harassment based on gender identity at school , resulting in higher rates of suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts.

In contrast, research has shown that starting hormone replacement therapy by 73% for trans youth, . Another study found that trans people who start hormones as adolescents report than those who desired gender-affirming hormones but could not access them.

Legislation targeting trans youths has significantly harmed the children the laws intend to protect. *Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images*

For Adriana, who describes beginning transition as the second happiest day of her life, after the day her daughter was born, fear of rejection kept her in denial of her trans identity. She used alcohol and made 鈥渞eckless decisions鈥� to cope with her gender dysphoria. Transitioning, meanwhile, brought her closer to her daughter. 鈥淚 was never myself around her, not completely, which my daughter noticed,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e always been close, but now that I鈥檓 genuinely happy with myself, we鈥檙e even closer.鈥�

Amid efforts to and from public schools, highlighting the joy of trans motherhood directly rejects myths that or otherwise dangerous to children. Extensive research shows that does not affect children鈥檚 gender identity, sexual orientation, or other developmental markers. Yet trans people experience discrimination in both and based on these pervasive myths.

Trans motherhood showcases the resilience of trans people who work diligently to take care of each other, even when they are failed by their communities and other institutions. Maria, an Indigenous Latina trans woman in her 30s, finds beauty in serving as a mother for the young queer and trans activists she works with. 鈥淚 find it an honor that someone holds you in such high esteem that they want to call you their mom. 鈥� Because motherhood is a beautiful thing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a beautiful thing to help them in their journey to become the best versions of themselves.鈥�

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

Derek P. Siegel is a sociologist and feminist scholar who examines how inequalities manifest at every stage of human reproduction, including family formation, parenting, and abortion. They are a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Their dissertation examines how race, class, and gender shape trans women鈥檚 ability to become parents, and sustain families. Using semi-structured interviews with 50 transgender women of diverse racial and class backgrounds, Seigel explores how interpersonal relationships (i.e., with partners and communities) and institutional contexts (i.e., employment, health care, and the law) produce and reinforce these disparities. Their work has appeared in Sociological Forum, Sociology Compass, Social Science & Medicine, and Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, and Technoscience.